Savage moved down her body and pressed his forehead to the base of Seychelle’s spine, breathing hard, trying to find his way back into his skin. She’d shattered him. He had known all along she had the capacity to break him wide open. He was so damn vulnerable with her. If his enemies had any idea the way he felt about her, they would take him down so easily. He would do anything to keep her safe. Anything at all.
Her little body shuddered under his. She was confused. Upset. Flying too high. About to drop too low. She desperately needed care. He rubbed his face along the curve of her beautiful ass, right over the stripes he’d made, before he gathered her into his arms and lifted her fully onto the bed.
“Let me take care of you, baby. I need to rub lotion onto those marks. There won’t be any bruising, I was careful. I’m going to lay you facedown, on your belly, and I want you to stay that way for me while I work on you.”
He had already set up for her care. The soothing lotion for her skin was in the tray right next to the packs of wash-cloths and towels he had set under the bed to clean her with. He was a man who believed in being prepared when it came to his woman. He was very gentle as he washed between her legs. He’d been rough. More than rough, and he examined her for tears. For any damage. He was a big man, and he’d skated the edge of control with her. Okay, he’d been totally out of control. Fortunately, it looked as if he hadn’t done any damage to her sweet little pussy. Still, he made certain he applied the soothing, healing cream, which was absorbed into her tissues immediately. She mewled like a little kitten, but she didn’t pull away.
“Was I too rough, Seychelle? Are you sore, baby?” He kept his voice very gentle, as gentle as his hands, as he lifted her and placed her very carefully in the center of their bed.
She kept her face averted from him, her fingers slowly curling into fists on either side of her head, pulling the comforter into the center of her palms as she did so.
Savage picked up the bottle of lotion and began to rub very gently along her ribs while he waited for her answer. Those marks were the lightest and would bother her the least when he touched them.
“You weren’t too rough, Savage. I wanted you to take me exactly the way you did.” There was a little break in her voice. “I needed you to.”
She kept her head tilted away from him even when she made her little confession. Her hair was all over the place, the thick honeyed strands like falls of silk, hiding her expression, but he knew her all too well now. She was confused with her body’s reaction—with her mind’s reaction.
Savage was careful of the darker red stripes on her ass, the ones that made his cock want to stir all over again. He soothed those lines tenderly. “Let me finish here, baby, then I can hold you. We’ll talk this out. I know you’re feeling a little confused right now.”
He moved faster, still keeping his touch as light as possible while rubbing the lotion in. “I don’t want any bruises on you. It had to feel like you were going to bruise a couple of times, didn’t it? Tell me how these made you feel when I was lashing you.” He rubbed the ones along the curve closest to the heat of her pussy and then leaned down to press kisses over the dark streaks.
Her legs moved restlessly. She didn’t answer him. He let that go while he rubbed the lotion into the stripes along the backs of her thighs. When he was finished, he moved up in the bed until he was the one with his back to the headboard and he could pull her into his arms. He still had the front of her to cover in lotion, those small strips, but holding her was much more important. She needed it, and so did he.
She resisted, just for a moment, and then he had her cuddling close to him, burying her face against his chest. He could feel the shaking of her body as she wept silent tears.
“Baby, what did I tell you about your tears?” He stroked a caress down her hair, his palm taking in the entire back of her head.
He felt the twitch of her lips, and she tilted her head just enough to give him a watery smile. He knew she’d smile at his demand. “You. They belong to you. I’ve got to warn you. I think I turned the water works on.”